Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I'm Slipping

I can't believe I missed Harper Lee's birthday. It was yesterday, and I spent the entire day being unaware. I acknowledged it last year, so I can only assume I'm slipping. Missing the birthday of one of my favorite authors made me wonder what else I missed yesterday. Here is what I let slip by:

Yesterday In History• 1789—The crew of the Bounty mutinied against Captain Bligh• 1930—the first night game of official baseball; Independence, Kansas• 1945—Benito Mussolini and his girlfriend were executed. After the War, my father brought home a photo of their bodies being dragged through the streets.• 1952—The US ends its occupation of Japan. That helps to date my china tea cups that are marked with "Made in Occupied Japan."

Yesterday was also National Cracker Day and National Poetry Reading Day. I feel as if I let so many notable events and occasions and subjects go by without even noticing. It's like missing your mother's birthday, which I have never done, but I can imagine you'd feel really bad the next day. And you can't go back and fix it. Sending a belated card or calling late only rubs in the salt. All you can do is make a note in next year's calendar and make sure you don't make the same mistake twice.

There are tricks to remembering where you put your keys and where you parked your car at the mall. You can use mnemonic devices to remember the names of people you have just met. The salon where I get my hair cut calls two days before my appointment as a reminder. With all the aids out there to help out a failing memory, there must be some way to remember important historical events on the calendar.

Well, I won't make that same mistake today—I'm on the ball this morning, so I won't have to be embarrassed tomorrow. Today is Duke Ellington's birthday and the anniversary of the day Alfred Hitchcock died. And, it's National Zipper Day.